Boiler room fire causes cruise ship to return to Seattle port

Story updated at 10:49 a.m.:The Coast Guard has declared the vessel safe, and it has left port to continue its journey to Alaska. Holland America says no one was injured in the fire.

SEATTLE — A fire in the boiler room of a cruise ship carrying nearly 3,000 people prompted the vessel to return to port in Seattle, officials said.

Holland America said that there were no injuries among the passengers and crew of the Westerdam from Saturday's blaze.

"A small fire in one of the boiler rooms" that occurred after the vessel set sail was quickly extinguished, the company said.

Public Relations Vice President Sally Andrews said early Sunday that after the fire the Coast Guard inspected the ship and cleared it to sail again, which could occur before dawn.

"We anticipate it will be before the morning," she told The Associated Press.

The Seattle Times reported that the flames broke out around 5 p.m. PDT as the vessel was in Puget Sound near Kingston, according to Coast Guard petty officer George Degener. The crew knocked the fire down, but a while later it restarted.

A combination of high-pressure mist and crew members with hoses extinguished the fire, Kyle Moore, spokesman for the Seattle Fire Department, told the paper. The city dispatched a fireboat, and a few units to the Pier 91 cruise terminal, as a precaution.

Holland America brought the ship back "out of an abundance of caution and in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard," a company statement said.

No evacuations were needed, firefighters reported.

The Westerdam was beginning a 7-day Alaska cruise with 2,086 passengers and 798 crew members onboard when the blaze occurred.